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Gaza Marks 6 Months of Ceasefire 04/10 06:07
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) -- Friday marks six months since Gaza's
ceasefire deal took effect, a milestone largely lost in the confusion over the
new and even more fragile ceasefire in the Iran war.
The ravaged Palestinian territory of 2 million people has seen the most
intense fighting stop between Israeli forces and Hamas-led militants. But most
of the ceasefire work remains to be done, from disarming Hamas and ending its
two-decade rule to deploying an international stabilization force and beginning
vast reconstruction. Gaza residents are in limbo, with limited aid entering
through a single, Israeli-controlled border post.
Such challenges could represent what's to come in the latest war, as U.S.
President Donald Trump's approach to peacemaking appears to be stopping
bombardment and leaving the bigger picture for others to work out.
Whether Trump can force through that kind of deal on Iran, with more actors
in play and global markets quivering at every statement, is yet to be seen.
The Board of Peace goes quiet
Focusing on a deal's details is crucial. Already the Iran war's two-week
ceasefire has created deadly confusion over Lebanon as Israel insists the deal
doesn't apply there and continues to attack the Iranian-backed Hezbollah, while
Iran insists it does and threatens to upend the agreement. Israel made a
surprise announcement Thursday authorizing direct negotiations with Lebanon,
despite the lack of diplomatic ties.
Not long ago, the U.S.-created and Trump-led Board of Peace kicked off with
$7 billion in pledges and sweeping intentions of resolving not only Gaza but
other conflicts that emerge around the world.
Nine days after the board's initial meeting, the U.S. and Israel attacked
Iran.
The Board of Peace has not met again, and it's still waiting for Hamas to
respond to its proposal on disarming, a major concession and perhaps the
hardest step. Hamas' founding charter calls for armed resistance against Israel.
A U.S. official said Hamas has not been given a definite deadline to respond
to the proposal but added that "patience is not unlimited." The official was
not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The lack of a deadline can weaken pressure to act. Meanwhile, diplomacy is
busy putting out different flames.
Board of Peace director Nickolay Mladenov told the U.N. Security Council
last month that the world should not lose sight of Gaza as a new war flared.
The choice in Gaza is between "a renewed war, or a new beginning; the status
quo, or a better future," he added. "There is no third option."
'It's as if there's no ceasefire at all'
Palestinians might suggest a third option: neglect.
Six months into the Gaza ceasefire that took effect on Oct. 10, little
beyond the largely silenced explosions has changed.
Vast tent camps house most of the territory's population. Other residents
shelter in damaged apartment buildings. Health workers and other humanitarian
workers say there has been little progress in the expected surge of medical
supplies and other aid.
The U.S. 20-point ceasefire plan for Gaza is largely failing on the
humanitarian front, five international aid groups said in a scorecard released
Thursday. They said conditions have deteriorated further in Gaza since the Iran
war began.
"During the first two weeks of March 2026, trucks entering Gaza declined by
80%, and the price of basic goods increased dramatically," they said. Medical
evacuations have stalled.
Palestinians expressed fading hopes for any immediate improvement in their
lives.
"There is pollution and disease. It's as if there's no ceasefire at all,"
said Maysa Abu Jedian, a displaced woman from Beit Lahiya.
"The war is still ongoing and life is still terrible as it is," said Eyad
Abu Dagga, also sheltering in a camp in Khan Younis.
Tents rippled in the breeze, and children played on the sand against a
backdrop of shattered buildings.
While the heaviest fighting has subsided, Israeli forces have carried out
airstrikes and fired on Palestinians near military-held zones. Militants have
carried out shooting attacks on troops, and Israel has said its strikes are in
response to that and other ceasefire violations.
As of Thursday, Israeli attacks have killed 738 people in the six months
since the ceasefire, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. The ministry, part of
the Hamas-led government, maintains detailed casualty records that are seen as
generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts. It does not give a
breakdown of civilians and militants.
Overall, the ministry says 72,317 Palestinians had been killed since the war
in Gaza began with the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel.
'Sustained diplomatic pressure at the highest levels'
Unwavering focus on Gaza, once at the heart of a passionate international
outcry, has been lost with the rise of a new regional war. That, too, has
decreased pressure for progress on the ceasefire.
The humanitarian groups' scorecard notes that any forward movement on aid
issues in the Palestinian territory has "generally required sustained
diplomatic pressure at the highest levels, particularly from the United States.
That pressure, however, has not been applied consistently or at the scale
needed to secure full implementation."
The Trump administration is not the only player to be distracted. The entire
Middle East, including key Gaza mediators Egypt and Qatar, now focuses on Iran
and that war's effects on their economies.
With the added uncertainty over Israel's renewed war with Hezbollah in
Lebanon, there could be even less interest from countries to contribute troops
to a Gaza stabilization force. One of the few confirmed troop contributors,
Indonesia, already has seen three of its peacekeepers in southern Lebanon
killed in recent days.
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